Intage, the largest Japanese marketing research company, announced the completion of its acquisition of Shanghai Hyperlink Marketing Research Co., Ltd. (hereinafter Hyperlink).

Since opening its Representative Office in Shanghai in 1999, Intage has worked aggressively to expand its business in China. In 2002, the Company established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Intage Marketing Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter Intage Shanghai). This acquisition was agreed in principle on January 22 this year, and the transaction was completed on October 20, 2009.

Hyperlink Research boasts sales among the top-ten locally-owned market research companies in China. The company has offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, and its clients are blue chip European and North American companies active in the Chinese market as well as leading Chinese companies. Since Hyperlink’s establishment in 1997 it has achieved rapid growth.

Through the acquisition of Hyperlink, the Intage Group shall achieve the following benefits:
1.Strengthening its operating base. This shall be achieved through the increase in the client base, expansion into new research areas, and an expansion in the range of research methods in the Chinese market.
・At present Intage Shanghai's clients are mainly Japanese companies. The acquisition shall expand the company's operating base by enlarging the client base to include European and American blue-chip companies as well as local Chinese businesses.
・Intage Shanghai will be able to focus on expanding the range of internet research it offers. Hyperlink has deep experience in quantitative research and telephone research (CATI), and these strengths in research shall be complimentary to those of the company.
・Until now, Intage Shanghai was focused on growing in the Shanghai market. With the addition of Hyperlink, the company will expand to Beijing and Guangzhou. ・Through the cooperation of Intage Shanghai and Hyperlink, the company shall improve its field research and make it more comprehensive by expanding to 2nd and 3rd tier cities and rural areas.

2.Hyperlink's sales are almost twice those of Intage Shanghai (based on 2008 results), and the acquisition will triple the scale of Intage Group's Chinese operations.

3.The acquisition shall expand the number of highly experienced staff specialized in the Chinese market. This will facilitate an increased level of localization within Intage's marketing research operations in China and allow it to offer a more comprehensive high quality service to its clients.

The Intage Group aims to further strengthen its market research operations in China and the South East Asian region over the next few years and provide services that will contribute to its clients' business development in the these markets.

Overseas business outlook
Considering the overseas business outlook, the Company on October 1 implemented a reorganization of its business, creating a new strategic Overseas Business Unit. This business unit was set up in order to develop overseas business, and will form part of the existing Global Research Department's Shanghai office. Through the addition of Hyperlink, Intage Shanghai shall further develop its business beyond providing research to Japanese companies interested in overseas markets and overseas companies looking at the Japanese market, and will seek to aggressively expand to make overseas business account for 10% of the Group's total sales.